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Writer's pictureConexión San Angelo

Cali+Penelope Boutique: “Fresh, Girly, Fun”

Updated: Jan 17, 2021


Natalie Rosas, a small business minority owner, launched Cali+Penelope Boutique on September 19, 2020 despite there being a pandemic. Conexión San Angelo newsroom, Jim Sánchez

Photo courtesy of Natalie Rosa's Facebook page.


SAN ANGELO – While Natalie Rosas’s personality tends to be on the reserved side, not so much when it came time to launch out into the deep waters of the business world.

Natalie exudes a quiet confidence, courage, and a belief in herself to the point that four months ago this small business minority owner started Cali+Penelope Boutique, despite there being a pandemic.


Natalie named her business after her two family members: Cali and Penelope. By-the-way, those two relatives turned out to be her adorable, dachshunds, Cali and Penelope. “Cali is short for California.” “It represents the two vibes for the boutique.” As for Penelope’s personality, she represents “Fresh, girly and fun,” exactly what Rosas was aiming for. Interestingly, that also best describes Rosas’ personality.


Natalie’s idea to start the boutique business got rolling with a popup (can be considered booths, but is also a test to see whether an idea is workable and to learn from direct experience) a month before she actually launched.


Then on September 19, 2020, one day before her 26th birthday is when she officially opened “the doors;” not in a brick-and-mortar building. But successfully transformed her bedroom into a boutique.

The boutique industry is highly competitive. “What is the difference between your business and others?”



“It is fresh with a young vibe touch.” The boutique offers affordable prices with the latest trends and cutest pieces to wear for a girls’ night out on the town” said Rosas.

One other thing Natalie offers that intrinsically accessorizes that line of “fresh, girly, fun and young vibe approach, “ … confidence for today’s 21st-century woman.”

Natalie has absolute confidence in her business acumen. But when it came time to describe her personality, she is more of a reserved person who loves a good laugh. “I laugh at everything, but the laugh is not so cute.” “I am also gullible in that I want to see the good in people,” she said. One strong trait that has sustained Natalie, not just personally but business-wise is a positive outlook on life.


Conexión then asked about her family life. “What have you learned in the four months since you launched Cali+Penelope Boutique? “I got two degrees but I still don’t know a lot.” “It has been an awesome experience.” “[However] I didn’t know how much work went into growing a small business.” Rosas also provided delivery service with COVID-19 last year which resulted in. “My hours were long and involved a lot of late nights.”

“So how do you balance a startup business with that of being the mother of two children?”

“My first priority of course is my boys, seven-year-old Aston; and one-year-old, Desmond.” Being a mother brought Natalie more joy than she could have possibly imagined when she was single. As a mom who is also a professional career woman, she wants better for her boys. “Everything I do is for their future.”


In concluding the interview, Rosas put it succinctly. “My customers are everything to me.” “It’s not all about making money, it’s about building a relationship with people that is local, home-based.”

FMI on Rosas’ Cali+Penelope Boutique business, contact her at caliandpenelope@gmail.com Or, her Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/CaliandPenelope





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